The living vroom: New build with a wheely unusual sofa

This house in Churchtown is unusual in many ways, not least the gleaming white Mini with the personalised number plate in the livingroom. The half Mini – a car halved to make a two-seater sofa – was a quirky purchase by the owner for the home he built in 2016. On sunny days it can be wheeled out to the patio, and it’s a bit of fun in a house that has some seriously high-tech features.

The owner – a builder – spotted the sliver of a site on Flemingstown Park in Churchtown, sandwiched between two bungalows, some years ago and built what he named Old Oak Lodge as his and his wife’s downsized retirement property.

With 125sq m (1,345sq ft) it has a simple layout – an open-plan ground floor, and two double bedrooms – both with en suites – upstairs. The entrance is to the side with a wider than typical door – “to get large pieces of furniture in and it was handy when the Mini arrived” – and there is also a side entrance leading through to the rear garden.

As it was to be their own home, built after a long career in the building trade, it had a long list of must-haves. Energy efficiency was high on the priority list – it’s A-rated with last year’s bill for light and heat coming in at less than €1,400 – thanks, the owner says, largely to the Amvic insulating concrete construction.

Other impressive features include a pressurised Nibe water system with instant hot water, multi-room (including the garden) Sonos sound system, Epson home cinema, electrically controlled Velux windows and blinds, and geo-thermal underfloor heating.

The hall door opens directly into the custom-built kitchen with its large island and breakfast bar. The bay window is fitted with an attractive window seat. The staircase – fitted with cleverly concealed storage – is against one wall. The only enclosed space in this open-plan living area is a guest toilet.

There’s a seating area with that home cinema and a space for a dining table and whatever unusual pieces of furniture new owners find. The floor-to-ceiling doors at the end of this bright room open out to a smartly paved patio with a detached utility room. The site is much longer than it is wide and so beyond this patio area is a lawned garden.

The owners, having downsized, are now reversing that decision. The arrival of grandchildren has made them think that a house with two bedrooms and one open-plan living area isn’t ideal to accommodate visits from an expanding new generation.

As everything is newly done in this detached two-storey house, it really is in turnkey condition.

It is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €855,000.There is parking to the front for two cars.